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MAKURDI, Nigeria (September 11, 2026) — Four police officers and at least seven civilians were killed after suspected armed bandits attacked Ayilamo, a farming community in Tombo Ward, Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, in an assault that began Thursday evening and stretched into the early hours of Friday.

The attack comes just days after the Benue State Government was accused of blocking presidential candidate Peter Obi’s convoy from reaching Yelwata, where he had planned to console families affected by an earlier round of attacks in the state — an episode that drew a formal denial from the government and, ultimately, the arrest of 46 people by police over the obstruction. The fresh violence in Ayilamo renews the same questions raised by that episode about the state’s capacity, and willingness, to protect communities and visitors from ongoing insecurity in Benue.

The Benue State Police Command said the attackers invaded the community in large numbers at about 6:12 p.m. on Thursday, prompting a response from police personnel including Police Mobile Force units, tactical teams, and conventional officers. According to the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Peter Aondongu (also referred to in some reports as Orchia Aondongu), security operatives engaged the attackers in a gun battle that lasted roughly seven hours before repelling them into the surrounding forest. Commissioner of Police Cletus Nwadiogbu confirmed the toll of 11 dead, describing the incident as unfortunate, and commended the officers involved for their courage while extending condolences to the families of the deceased and the Ayilamo community.

The bodies of the four police officers were later recovered from surrounding bushes; local reports named them as ASP Paul Ina, Inspector Mohammed Yusuf, Inspector Oge Ikechukwu, and Inspector Edeh Andrew. Seven civilian bodies were recovered and deposited at a mortuary, per the police account, though several local residents and community leaders put the civilian toll at eight, naming victims including Baba Nyikyaa Mbanengen Agia, Mkohol Ahowe, Agah Saanmoyol, Baba Mlahaga Kpurkpur, Geoffrey Aondoakaa Gaku, and two children. Several other people were reported injured, and some residents remained unaccounted for as of Friday.

Residents said the attackers, estimated by locals at more than 200 armed men, entered the community through the Alufu Road axis from neighbouring Taraba State, firing weapons and setting houses ablaze as they advanced. Ayilamo sits on the Abinsi-Tyulen-Anyiin-Wukari road, a transit corridor that has made it a recurring target. One resident, James Udough, said this was the second time within a single month that mobile police officers stationed in Ayilamo had been killed in an attack, and appealed to the Benue State and federal governments for stronger protection. Another resident said the community has faced attempts to raze it entirely for more than two years.

Some local accounts have linked the persistent targeting of Ayilamo to rumours of large mineral deposits in the area, though this has not been independently confirmed and is not part of the police’s official account of the attack’s cause.

The Police Command said it had deployed additional tactical teams to the area to reinforce security and prevent further attacks, and urged residents to remain calm, stay vigilant, and share useful information with security agencies to support ongoing operations.

The attack adds to a mounting toll of violence in Benue State this year, including the 2025 Yelwata massacre that Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, sought to visit victims of earlier this week, and comes amid broader scrutiny of the state government’s and security agencies’ capacity to protect rural communities across Benue’s North-Central corridor ahead of the 2027 general elections.

This is a developing story.